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ICE issues enforcement guidance to OPLA attorneys implementing EO 13768

  1. Original Date Announced

    August 15, 2017

    ICE issues guidance to OPLA attorneys implementing Executive Order 13768 on interior enforcement. The guidance revises enforcement priorities, directs the Office of Chief Counsel to review all previously administratively closed cases, states that prosecutorial discretion is not to be exercised in favor of leniency (except for members of the military and their family members), and announces a general policy of opposing motions to reopen. [ID #270]

    ICE Guidance to OPLA Attorneys
  2. Effective Date

    August 15, 2017
  3. Subsequent Trump and Court Action(s)

    • August 18, 2021

      2021.08.19 Texas v. US preliminary injunction decision

      On August 19, 2021, Judge Drew B. Tipton of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Victoria Division, enjoined the Biden administration's Jan. 20, 2021, and Feb. 18, 2021, guidance on enforcement priorities. Texas v. U.S., No. 6:21-cv-00016 (S.D. Texas, Aug. 19, 2021).

      **Litigation is listed for informational purposes and is not comprehensive. For the current status of legal challenges, check other sources.**

      View Document
    • September 15, 2021

      2021.09.15 Texas v. US 5th Circuit Stay Order

      On September 15, 2021, a panel of the Fifth Circuit issued an order granting in part the government's request for a stay of Judge Tipton's order enjoining the Biden administration's Jan. 20 and Feb. 18 enforcement priority memos. The memos can go into effect, except to the extent that the government seeks to rely on them to decline to detain noncitizens who are subject to mandatory detention (individuals "described in 1226(c)(1) against whom detainers have been lodged or aliens who fall under section 1231(a)(1)(A) because they have been ordered removed"). The court stayed the remainder of Judge Tipton's injunction until the merits appeal.

      On November 30, 2021, the en banc Fifth Circuit vacated the panel's stay and assigned the merits appeal to a future panel. (Texas v. U.S., Case No. 21-40618 (Nov. 30, 2021)).

      **Litigation is listed for informational purposes and is not comprehensive. For the current status of legal challenges, check other sources.**

      View Document
    • March 22, 2022

      2022.03.22 Arizona v. Biden, Case No. 3:21-cv-314, Order Granting Preliminary Injunction

      On March 22, 2022, the Southern District of Ohio issued a preliminary injunction in Arizona v. Biden partially enjoining the Biden administration's September 30, 2021, Guidelines for the Enforcement of Civil Immigration Law. The decision restrains DHS from taking the following three actions pursuant to the guidance:

      "a. Enforcing and implementing Section II of the Permanent Guidance (entitled “Civil Immigration Priorities”) to make, determine, or adjudicate noncitizen custody decisions pending removal proceedings contrary to 8 U.S.C. § 1226(c)(1);
      b. Enforcing and implementing Section II of the Permanent Guidance to authorize the release of, whether on bond, supervision, or otherwise, a noncitizen with a final order of removal during the removal period in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1231(a)(2); and
      c. Enforcing and implementing Section II of the Permanent Guidance to delay, continue, or stay the execution of a noncitizen’s final order of removal to the extent that no other provision in 8 U.S.C. § 1231, or any other provision of the U.S. Code, justifies the noncitizen’s continued presence in the United States beyond the period set forth in 8 U.S.C. § 1231(a)."

      **Litigation is listed for informational purposes and is not comprehensive. For the current status of legal challenges, check other sources.**

      View Document
    • April 12, 2022

      2022.04.12 Arizona v. Biden, No. 22-3272, On Motion for Stay (6th Cir., April 12, 2022).

      On April 12, 2022, the Sixth Circuit issued a stay of the District Court's nationwide injunction regarding DHS's September 30, 2021 Enforcement Guidelines. On the merits, oral argument took place on June 10, 2022. See https://www.courthousenews.com/biden-administration-defends-immigration-policy-before-sixth-circuit/.

      **Litigation is listed for informational purposes and is not comprehensive. For the current status of legal challenges, check other sources.**

      View Document
    • June 10, 2022

      2022.06.10 Texas v. US opinion

      On June 10, 2022, Judge Tipton of the Northern District of Texas vacated, in their entirety, the Biden administration's September 30, 2021 Guidelines for the Enforcement of Civil Immigration Law. The court held that "the Final Memorandum [was] . . . arbitrary and capricious, contrary to law, and fail[ed] to observe procedure under the Administrative Procedure Act."

      The court stayed the vacatur for seven days, later extended for another week, during which the administration requested a stay from the Fifth Circuit. No ruling was forthcoming in that timeframe, however, so on June 24, 2022, the district court's order went into effect.

      **Litigation is listed for informational purposes and is not comprehensive. For the current status of legal challenges, check other sources.**

      View Document
    • July 6, 2022

      2022.07.06_Arizona v. Biden (6th Cir. 2022)

      On July 6, 2022, the Sixth Circuit vacated the Southern District of Ohio's Arizona v. Biden injunction, which had partially enjoined the Biden administration's September 30, 2021, Guidelines for the Enforcement of Civil Immigration Law.

      **Litigation is listed for informational purposes and is not comprehensive. For the current status of legal challenges, check other sources.**

      View Document
    • July 6, 2022

      2022.07.06 Texas v. United States (5th Cir. 2022)

      On July 6, 2022, the Fifth Circuit reviewed the district court's vacatur of the Biden administration's September 30, 2021, Guidelines for the Enforcement of Civil Immigration Law, and denied DHS's motion for a stay of the order pending appeal. The court found "no reversible error of fact or law, nor any abuse of discretion" in the district court's opinion that would justify a stay.

      **Litigation is listed for informational purposes and is not comprehensive. For the current status of legal challenges, check other sources.**

      View Document
    • July 21, 2022

      Denial of Stay, US v. Texas, SCOTUS 2022

      On July 21, 2022, the Supreme Court denied DHS's emergency application to stay the district court's vacatur of the Biden administration's September 30, 2021, Guidelines for the Enforcement of Civil Immigration Law. The Court also granted certiorari.

      **Litigation is listed for informational purposes and is not comprehensive. For the current status of legal challenges, check other sources.**

      View Document
    • June 23, 2023

      2023.06.23 - United States v. Texas (U.S. 2023)

      On June 23, 2023, the Supreme Court held that Texas and Louisiana lack Article III standing to challenge the Biden administration's September 30, 2021, Guidelines for the Enforcement of Civil Immigration Law. The Court found that the alleged additional costs incurred by the States due to the challenged arrest policy did not comprise a "legally and judicially cognizable" injury “traditionally thought to be capable of resolution through the judicial process.” Raines v. Byrd, 521 U. S. 811, 819 (1997). The Court also recognized that federal courts are generally not the proper forum for resolving claims implicating the Executive Branch’s enforcement discretion over arrests and prosecutions, but noted that federal courts could properly adjudicate such cases under different circumstances.

      The Biden administration's Guidelines for the Enforcement of Civil Immigration Law were reinstituted following the judgment are therefore in effect. The portions of the 2022 ICE PLA Kerry Doyle memo that relied upon the previously vacated Guidelines and were therefore not in effect should once again take effect pursuant to the Supreme Court ruling.

      **Litigation is listed for informational purposes and is not comprehensive. For the current status of legal challenges, check other sources.**

      View Document
  4.  
  5. Biden Administration Action: Revoked/Replaced

    January 20, 2021

    Executive Order on the Revision of Civil Immigration Enforcement Policies and Priorities

    This Biden administration policy revokes in its entirety the Trump-era policy identified in this entry.

    On January 20, 2021, President Biden issued Executive Order 13993 which revoked the Trump administration’s EO 13768.

    View Document
  6. Biden Administration Action: Revoked/Replaced

    January 20, 2021

    2021.01.20 Review of and Interim Revision to Civil Immigration Enforcement and Removal Policies and Priorities

    This Biden administration policy revokes in its entirety the Trump-era policy identified in this entry.

    On January 20, 2021, DHS issued a policy memo rescinding and suspending the Trump-era policy memo. This memo was supplemented a month later by ICE's Interim Guidance on Civil Immigration Enforcement and Removal Priorities (Feb. 18, 2021), https://www.ice.gov/doclib/news/releases/2021/021821_civil-immigration-enforcement_interim-guidance.pdf.

    View Document
  7. Biden Administration Action: Revoked/Replaced

    May 27, 2021

    2021.05.27 Interim Guidance to OPLA Attorneys Regarding Civil Immigration Enforcement and Removal Policies and Priorities

    This Biden administration policy furthers the previously mentioned Biden administration action revoking in its entirety the Trump-era policy identified in this entry.

    On May 27, 2021, ICE issued guidance to OPLA attorneys on enforcement priorities. In contrast to the previous Trump-era guidance, this document emphasizes the use of prosecutorial discretion when appropriate.

    View Document
  8. Biden Administration Action: Revoked/Replaced

    September 30, 2021

    2021.09.30 Guidelines for the Enforcement of Civil Immigration Law

    This Biden administration policy revokes and modifies the Trump-era policy identified in this entry.

    On September 30, 2021, DHS Secretary Mayorkas issued a memorandum explaining that ICE should use prosecutorial discretion to focus its enforcement on individuals who pose a threat to national security, public safety, and/or border security, and take an individualized approach in each case. The memo contextualizes this prioritization with analysis of the undocumented population within the U.S., the executive's discretion in this area, and the need to protect against civil rights and civil liberties abuses.

    This guidance went into effect on November 29, 2021.

    View Document
  9. Biden Administration Action: Revoked/Replaced

    April 3, 2022

    2022.04.03 Guidance to OPLA Attorneys Regarding the Enforcement of Civil Immigration Laws and the Exercise of Prosecutorial Discretion

    This Biden administration policy revokes and modifies the Trump-era policy identified in this entry.

    On April 3, 2022, ICE PLA Kerry Doyle issued Guidance to OPLA Attorneys Regarding the Enforcement of Civil Immigration Laws and the Exercise of Prosecutorial Discretion, which incorporates the Guidelines for the Enforcement of Civil Immigration Law, rescinds the Interim OPLA Guidance, and updates and expands the exercise of PD by OPLA attorneys.

    This memorandum has an effective date of April 25, 2022 to streamline OPLA’s process for designating enforcement priorities, and provides greater discretion to OPLA attorneys to exercise PD in individual cases.

    View Document
  10. Biden Administration Action: Other

    June 23, 2023

    Statement from Secretary Mayorkas Regarding the Supreme Court Decision on Immigration Enforcement

    After the United States v. Texas decision was issued on June 23, 2023, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas released a formal statement noting that DHS looked forward to reinstating the Civil Immigration Enforcement Priorities as set forth in the Guidelines for the Enforcement of Civil Immigration Law originally signed by Secretary Mayorkas on September 30, 2021.

    View Document
  11. Biden Administration Action: Other

    July 28, 2023

    Reinstatement of the Immigration Enforcement Priorities Post SCOTUS Ruling

    According to an August 15, 2023, stakeholder update from the ICE Office of Partnership and Engagement (OPE), the Department's Civil Immigration Enforcement Priorities were reinstituted on July 28, 2023, following the Supreme Court's decision in United States v. Texas. The OPE update further states that the ICE Office of the Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA) reinstated Principal Legal Advisor Kerry Doyle’s memorandum from April 2022 which provides OPLA attorneys with guidance for appropriately executing DHS’s enforcement priorities and exercising prosecutorial discretion.

    View Document

Current Status

Not in effect

Most Recent Action

July 28, 2023 Action: Other Reinstatement of the Immigration Enforcement Priorities Post SCOTUS Ruling
January 20, 2021
Acted on by Biden Administration
January 20, 2021
Acted on by Biden Administration
May 27, 2021
Acted on by Biden Administration
September 30, 2021
Acted on by Biden Administration
April 3, 2022
Acted on by Biden Administration
June 23, 2023
Acted on by Biden Administration
July 28, 2023
Acted on by Biden Administration

Original Trump Policy Status

Status: Final/Actual
Trump Administration Action: Agency Directive
Subject Matter: Interior
Agencies Affected: ICE

Pre Trump-Era Policies

Commentary

  • Advocating for Prosecutorial Discretion in Removal Proceedings Under the Doyle Memo

    Publication of the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild (NIPNLG) and Immigrant

    Legal Resource Center on new strategies to advocate for prosecutorial discretion in removal proceedings.

    Go to article
  • Biden administration halts limits on ICE arrests following court ruling

    CBS News publishes a statement from DHS after the Fifth Circuit's initial failure to respond to the administration's emergency stay request: "[DHS] said it 'strongly' disagreed with Tipton's order, but that it was complying with it. 'During the appeals process, ICE agents and officers will make enforcement decisions on a case-by-case basis in a professional and responsible manner, informed by their experience as law enforcement officials and in a way that best protects against the greatest threats to the homeland.'"

    Go to article

Documents

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